Is Anger a gift?...or a Detriment?

[mopaul]

i stole the line from will pitt's former sig line. 'anger is a gift'.

is it? anger, what is it good for?

[Walt Starr]

1. It's a gift

I'm so pissed at Shrubco I'm actually going to vote for somebody I don't think should be president.

[Misunderestimator]

2. Anger is good for... waking people out of their complacency and stupor...

before we spiral into oblivion.

[rocktivity]

It's really up to you

how you channel your anger, that is. It can certainly be a gift if it inspires you to right a wrong, speak out, or stand up for yourself. Anger is only a detriment when you allow it to control you.

:headbang:
rocknation

[sniffa]

3. it's a gift

but onLy if you can channeL it to a productive cause, such as ruining a repubLican's day.

[Walt Starr]

4. Here's a better one, the truth shall set you free

but first it shall piss you off!

[Az]

5. As any tool it depends

Anger can be a great motivater. What it motivates you to do determines whether it was good.

The chief problem with anger is that it clouds judgement. If you do not want the people thinking then anger is a great thing. If the anger can be moderated so that once the person is motivated they then stop and think the problem through then it can be very valuable.

Anger is. There is no denying this aspect of our natures. How we deal with it determines its value. In large numbers angry people can become a force that is unstoppable.

[H2O Man]

6. It is not exclusively one or the other.

It's a human emotion, which has the potential to be used in a constructive or a destructive way. It is up to each of us how we channel our emotions.

[frank frankly]

7. different times call for different measures for different people

I agreed with everybody who celebrated reagan's death, but i didn't comment much because i prefer to focus on the immediate problems facing bushco. i don't feel that by saying what an absolute racist fuck reagan was as president, one becomes just like them (freepers, etc.) it isn't that simple to me.

i don't like wishing for bad things to happen to people, but i wish for bad things to happen to bushco. they are trying to kill us all. to not resist would be insane to me.

i am angry alot nowadays and i try to use it as energy. fight fire with fire, water, wind, and earth. use it all, all the time.

be angry, scared, despondent, enraged...anything but asleep.

[kentuck]

8. It can be both, mopaul...

It can be a gift if it spurs you to action for good. It can be a detriment if it causes you to lash out and do harm...

[misanthrope]

17. What is "harm"...

...to one is "help" to another. That's entirely too subjective.

[VelmaD]

9. Both

Will uses that line on me all the time. :) When something horirble happens and I'm sad and furious at the same time and just about ready to give up on people...he reminds me that it's all about how you use that anger. If you let it eat you up inside, let it beat you down, then it's a detriment. The key is using that anger to spur you to action.

[sendero]

10. It's neither and both....

... it can be used for good or ill like any other tool.

[indigobusiness]

11. It's a Department---Part of the Patriot Act

Repeal it.


http://sludgereport.blogspot.com/

[sam sarrha]

12. It is most usually a destructive emotion.. you lose 20 IQ pts when the

adrenaline constricts the blood vessels in your brain.

It can wake you up to what is important to you, but to operate in anger is foolish, and unwise. If you want to win a fight, get you opponent angry.

The Dalai Lama teaches that a negative thought continues and increases exponentially until replaced by a positive thought, however, positive thoughts must be continually cultilvated.... that is where the power of people like Rush, and Savage comes from.. perpetuating the adrenaline drug addiction of their listeners..thats a fact. then mind controlling them to vote for 'stupid' when they get them "doped" up..pun intended.

I got into a fight with a Columbian hit man at a dance... he knocked down a guard and was trying to take the 9mm out of his holster.. I, relunctly..his being 6'11" and resembling Hulk Hogan on nuclear steroids, I figured a lot of people were going to die.. maybe me included.. so i kicked his hand off the gun as hard as i could.. that really pissed him off..! Luckily i had studied Ti Chi 20 years before for a couple of months, with his first punch i blocked grabbed his wrist put his hand behind his back grabbed his shoulder length hair and pulled his head back and ran him 30 feet into a wall.. I was able to hold him there while most of the people escaped.. but he was so muscle bound i couldn't get his wrist above his belt and he got away. what saved me was that he was totally Berserk by this time. he was throwing punches really hard and fast.. i was slapping them away with an open hand.. it was like playing patty cake with Godzilla. but i was getting really tired, and i could barely stand because he had kicked my kneecaps at the wall with his heels alot.. he stopped to take a breather and the police sirens got close.. he pointed a finger at me like.. "I'll be back.." and ran off. now this was my first fight ever.. ... then the guard with the gun came in.. and i got really angry all of a sudden.. if i had become scared or angry i would have been killed by the Columbian.. if he had not been angry he would have killed in the first 10 seconds.

The NEOCONS and Reich wingers use anger and fear to minipulate an uneducated populace.. and we need to avoid that addictive trap. we need skillful means to educate and inform... that is a Herculean feat. The right has effectively redefined the term Liberal. they have effectively demonized a term that used to mean people who believe in the Democratic process to initiate change.....

[supernova]

13. Anger is part of the survival instinct

Angry is what you get when your back is against the wall and you fell like you are being attacked. Being angry is sometimes the only proper response. Like now.

[Armstead]

14. Anger can be a gift, but....

a foulmouthed temper tantrum is not.

[ArkDem]

30. Hmmmmm........

This is making me think of someone but I'm just no sure who it is.

[AntiCoup2K4]

15. Anger is an energy

- as quoted by the great John Lydon.

[indigobusiness]

16. Cheney thrives on it.

http://sludgereport.blogspot.com/

[Kinkistyle]

18. This is cynical but: its better off to contain ones anger.

Because inevitably when someone lets their anger get the better of them it usually leads to stupid decisions. Now thats not to say we shouldn't get angry, because their are times when we should - but its always better to contain your own anger and stir it up in your enemies because inevitably it will lead to their downfall.

[CaptainClark23]

19. To quote Joe Strummer

"Kick over the wall
Cause governments to fall
How can you refuse it?
Let fury have the hour
anger can be power
Don't you know that you can use it?"

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

20. The far right is angry...has it been a gift?

I guess it depends on HOW one applies one's anger to a situation and what is at the core of that anger. If the anger is a rational anger based on a perceived injustice communicated with the intent to rectify a wrong...it can be useful...if it's shot off in many directions...with no regard for unintended consequences...not good.

A better question would be....If I am angry, how can I translate my anger to something constructive.

In fact...based on the threads you have started..this one and the other asking for approval or disapproval...I would simply ask you...do YOU think you are CONSTRUCTIVE or DESTRUCTIVE?

[Monte Carlo]

21. Anger is the path to the Dark Side of the Force...

Well, maybe not all the time.

I think anger, like fear, is healthy to a certain degree. It keeps us alive and aware. Excessive anger, unfocused anger, is destructive to the self.

[Jose Diablo]

22. Thoughts on anger

Anger is a fear response to a threat to our instinctive needs for security, social and/or sexual wellbeing. The word instinctive means the needs are part of our basic make-up.

Security needs can be thought of as a need for money, in our culture one needs money to have security. Security would be like knowing tomorrow will be like today. We got by today, thus tomorrow should be like today IF we have money. Also, security would be like having a job versus working day to day employment not knowing if tomorrow we would have a job. I think security could be summarized as knowing the future existence is assured. Anything that threatens the security instinct can cause fear, then anger. A resistance to change is due to fear caused by a threat an instinctive need for security.

We are social(think herd) animals. It seems to be something basic about our need to fit into some social structure. The social needs also tie into the security needs. I doubt, except in rare instances we humans could survive long without some contact with others. At least not stay 'sane'. Things that threaten our social standing or needs to be accepted by others can cause fear, then anger. It is not good to remain alone, even when we are surrounded by people like being isolated in cities.

I doubt anyone would question our instinctive need to have sexual contact. You can pick-up a paper any day and see how sometimes people get killed over things that threaten sexual needs.

With this said, anger can be both natural and/or corrosive depending on if the actions anger promoted were successful in relieving the source of the fear. Unsuccessful attempts continued over long periods of time, can and do kill those with the anger.

We can then postulate about our formations of the various cultural institutions to solve our instinctual motivators for security, social and sexual needs. From these basic needs spring the various moralities we adopt to help relieve the threats to our basic needs by being a member of the culture. In this way, individuals balance selfish needs into the wellbeing of the whole, which also translates back into the wellbeing of the members in the whole. It is like having a contract with the government for security, but then having the government break that contract.

You bet that would cause lots of anger.

[jpgray]

23. It's an impetus--by itself it is is completely worthless (nt)

[Suspicious]

24. Anger is an afflictive emotion...

...even righteous anger. There is no such thing as "positive" anger.

It is possible to constructively channel the energy that can turn into anger, though.

[mopaul]

25. another angry kick

[Az]

26. So what are you going to do with that anger?

Anger is a fine motivator. Bad planner. So you got a head full of steam. You have a sense of righteous indignation. You are insensed. So what are you going to do with it.

Are you angry enough to change your life? Are you willing to disrupt whatever comfort you may currently have? Are you going to risk anything in the name of this anger?

Or are you just going to use this anger to fuel useless rants?

Anger is a tool. What you do with it determines whether it is a good tool or not. Take that anger and use it. Control it. And think. What needs to be done. Now.... DO IT.

[LWolf]

27. anger is destructive energy.

It leads to destructive behaviors. It leaves reason, compassion, and balance behind.

It is often used to cover up other issues. It's easier to be angry than to be hurt, or to do whatever work is necessary to heal hurts.

Anger can be used to generate energy for action. But the kind of action taken in anger will be reflected back to you. You'll get it back eventually.

[mopaul]

28. john lennon truly thought that love would save us all....

but it didn't. he said all you need is love. he was wrong. as he later indicated. you also need some hate in your psyche to counteract all the turn the other cheekism

[LWolf]

32. hate is self -destructive.

That doesn't mean I don't recognize destructive behaviors on the part of others; I just don't think that becoming them to defeat them serves the higher good. I don't think it's quite the same as turning the other cheek. Refusal to respond, refusal to engage, refusal to support, while actively responding, engaging in, and supporting constructive ideas, words and actions rather than destructive. I'm not pacifist enough (yet) to not defend. I just don't attack. At least, not with anger and aggression. I attack with passion, with conviction, with words and actions backing up the constructive behaviors I'm advocating and modeling.

It makes me think of the rules in my classroom. Every year, year after year, my kids have to learn to re-think rules and actions. Because our rules are stated in positive rather than negative action. We don't have rules that say "no talking, no hitting," etc. Instead we have rules to state what we will do. Listen. Treat others with respect. And so on. It turns the conversation and the perspective about rules upside down.

When a transgression occurs, we have conversations about it. When I ask what they will do in future situations, they try to tell me what they won't do. I re-direct to get them to tell me what they will do. The absence of action leaves a vacuum. It needs to be filled with a constructive action, and the focus and attention needs to be on constructive action.

If it is not ok for Johnny to hit me, call me names, steal from me, destroy my book, etc., then it is not ok for me to engage in those behaviors in retaliation. They are not an appropriate response.

If it is incivil and ignorant for the opposition to hurl names, ridicule, etc., then I won't do it in return. Adults ought to model the behaviors they teach to kids.

It's not that we shouldn't feel anger; who could not feel anger? It's that our reaction should be constructive, not destructive.

[mopaul]

33. all good points.........well taken.......................n/t

[JCMach1]

29. To quote John Lydon...

"Anger is an energy..."

[buddhamama]

31. neither.

it is an emotion that human beings experience,as natural as any other emotion. Anger can be destructive if it is not tempered by reason
or rational thinking. Anger can be positive in nature if it causes
one to think, examine and act.

The gift of anger can only be experienced imo,
if it is focused anger.

if there is just anger then you're left with an "angry" person,
and the life of an Angry person is not much of a life at all,
angry people are rarely, if ever are happy- again my opinion.

[mopaul]

34. excellent points

i truly wish that i were not consumed with anger. but, i am, as are millions like me. we are here. we could all use a dose of buddha

[buddhamama]

36. you know what mopaul

i don't think you're an asshole nor do i believe you been consumed (YET) by your anger. i base my opinion on some of your responses in this thread. Your mind isn't closed, you can still see the shades of grey in any argument, the world and, you have even been respectful to those whom haven't exactly praised or agreed with you.

A person who is truly consumed by Anger lives by one motto
Fuck everyone, Fuck the world.

You're not there yet.

Your responses in DTH's thread were predictable.
NO ONE i know appreciates condescension preachy speeches.
It was quite a self-centered post.

one word of advice,
focus your anger,
and protect yourself.
don't become what you despise.

as i have said before Reagan was a man like any other.
His actions are what we remember and dislike about the MAN.
none of us is above or incapable of doing the same.
it is something we must fight against.
His actions are more recognizable in human beings (history of human experience)
human behavior than compassion,
seeking understanding, and living at peace!


peace to you, mopaul.

[PATRICK]

35. Anger confronting grave evil

Yes that is necessary sometimes. It is an anger at the destructiveness of another against others himself and the world. The anger is the rising up of strength to face down and stop the evil. This is from the Dalai Lama's conference on the mind in the book on destructive emotions as to when anger can be a force for good.

Generally the scientists and the monks studied the reflexive anger process, measurable in effect and time once a "trigger" sets it off. A mood can last for a day, anger must go on for an hour before passing.

The cause can be inconsequential, wrong or "justifiable" but the physical response is pretty much the same- and disconcerting for those who thought they could control this one at least. But you can't really since it usually takes you by surprise. Afterward, like any faded passion, comes embarrassment or even guilt.

Believe me, I have shared all these years the low simmer general anger against Reagan's legacy( he faded out of the equation and continues to fade even midst all the smarmy untruths). He is out of it and has been, but the anger of those who mourn democracy and hunger for justice is not wrong, though thosde not caught up in the emotional trip can be put off and shocked.

Channel it against the evil that still stalks this somnolent mistaken land. There is a better focus, the lies that must be countered, the manipulation of reality to destroy, to block what is good. For them hatred is a good in itself, the "good" only a good renamed. For their own sake and all future generations lies must be opposed.

That anger towers above all and does not seek to supplant God- or the notion of a good God. In the general blasphemy they seek to redefine even their fake idol(God as well as Reagan) with sufficient stern, blind cruelty to match the worst humans who would rule over all. To deny the truth, to hate, to be small and make other like themselves or dead. Some so called "liberal" reporters are slobbering over this falsehood now.

Anger is better than wallowing in lies. Only direct it where it justly can challenge the living.

[BeFree]

37. Anger controlled, is good

Think of anger as energy.

Energy in a controlled explosion, such as in an engine, can be put to good use.

Uncontrolled, the energy of anger is wasted.

Control yourself and you control your world.

Let's see, shall we piss on it or dance on it today?